Tuesday, February 24, 2015

The green jay is a resident of Mexico, Central and northern South America. The Mexican and Central American population is separated from the South American population and differ in size, color and call. It is possible that in the future it may be discovered that they are actually separate species or at least different subspecies.

Green jays typically prefer riparian thickets and other dense forested areas in humid climates. The exception to this is in south Texas. South Texas is the only place in the United States where green jays can be found. In Texas they inhabit mesquite thickets, native scrub and open park lands. These birds where photographed in Texas at the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge and Bentsen State Park respectively.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

The ferruginous hawk is a large raptor found in the western plains of North America. They are a member of the buteo genus of hawks. Buteos are soaring hawks that are distinguished by their long wings and short tails. They ferruginous hawks are the largest hawk in North America and the second largest buteo in the world.

The common name ferruginous comes from the Latin word ferrgin which roughly means iron rust. This is of course in reference to their rusty red colored feathers. The ferruginous hawk is one of only three North American raptors, other than owls, that have feathers that extend down their legs to their toes. The other two raptors are the rough-legged hawk and the golden eagle.

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

The eastern screech-owl is a small owl that is found in the eastern half of the United States, south-eastern Canada, and north eastern Mexico. They can be found in a variety of different habitats including suburban and metropolitan areas. The main priority for habitat is available cavities, since they are a cavity nester. This can be a tree cavity or a man made cavity such as a nesting box. Like most owls they stick on their nesting territory through out the entire year and do not migrate during the winter unless their is a shortage of prey.

Like most raptors there is no difference in color between male and female eastern screech-owls.females are typically larger than males however it is difficult to tell by size with out one of the opposite sex to reference. However, as you can probably guess by these photos, there are two different color variations of eastern screech-owl. About 70% of the population is gray, like the wild owl in the first photo. The other 30% are red like Mestaae above. Mestaae is an educational raptor at The Raptor Center. The percentage of red screech-owls is higher in the east with only about 15% red at the western edges of their range.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

The cedar waxwing is a robin sized songbird that is found in the northern United States and southern Canada. Birds that breed in the northern US are typically year round residents while birds that breed in Canada often migrate south to the US, Mexico and Central America for the winter. Waxwings get their name from the red waxy substance that forms on the tips of some birds wings. Their are two species of waxwings in North America the cedar waxwing and the more northerly bohemian waxwing.

Cedar waxwings eat mostly fruit. They typically eat the entire fruit discarding the seeds through their mute. Cedar waxwings get their name because they also eat the cones and berries of eastern red cedar, especially during the winter months when other fruits are not available. Sometimes they have been found intoxicated by eating fruit that has sat too long and started to ferment. During the summer they will also supplement their diet with insects that they catch on the wing or glean from trees. The bird in the photo above is a first year bird while the one in the top photo is a mature adult.

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

The black-throated green warbler is a small passerine that breeds in the eastern half of North America. The breeding range includes the south eastern two thirds of Canada, the northern Great Lakes States, and the eastern United States from Maine down to Virginia and the Carolinas. Across Canada they breed in coniferous boreal forests. In the northern United States they typically breed in mixed coniferous\deciduous and in the southern portions of their range they breed in cypress swamps. This photo was taken in southern Minnesota in May during the Spring migration.

Like most warbler species teh black-throated green warbler mainly eats insects. Usually it gleans its prey from branches and leaves. It will also sometimes catch insects in flight and occasionally eat berries Since there are not insects in Canada and the northern United States during the winter these warblers migrate to southern Florida, Mexico, Central and northern Southern America. This photo was taken in southern Florida in October.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

The Wilson's warbler is a small new world warbler. They breed across Canada and the western United States. The typical breeding habitat consists of open woodlands, with plenty of undergrowth, typically ponds, lakes or bogs. The nest is built primarily by the female. It is cup shaped, made of vegetation, and lined with grass or hair. It is usually placed on the ground in the grass or under a bush or sometimes low in a bush.

Like most warblers Wilson's warblers are primarily an insect eater, gleaning insects from trees and undergrowth or catching them in flight. Since their are no insects in Canada during the winter they migrate south to Mexico and Central America. Their wintering grounds consists of a variety of typically secondary growth habitats such as tropical forests, thorn-scrub, mangrove undergrowth, riparian forests, and coffee plantations.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

The scarlet tanager is an American passerine. They breed through out the eastern half of the United States and parts of southeastern Canada. During this time they feed primarily on insects which they typically glean from th trunk and branches of trees at the top of the canopy. They will also catch flying insects in the air, like a flycatcher, and occasionally eat some fruit.

The scarlet tanager gets its name from the bright red color of the male. The females are yellow in color with the same black colored wings that the male has. In the fall males will molt and change from their bright scarlet colored plumage to a yellow color similar to the normal female plumage. The bird above was photographed in mid molt. The tanagers will then migrate south, flying over the Gulf of Mexico to winter in Northern South America. Their they will join mixed feeding flocks of tanagers, flycatchers and other tropical birds.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

The ruby-throated hummingbird is the most common hummingbird found in North America. They are the only hummingbird that breeds in the eastern half of the continent, most of which is included in their breeding territory. During the winter they migrate to southern Mexico and Central America.

Hummingbirds have very short legs. This makes it very difficult for them to walk or hop. Typically they hover or fly to get from one spot to another. While hovering or flying their wings can beat at approximately 53 times per second.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

The pileated woodpecker is the largest woodpecker in North America. That is unless you believe that the ivory billed woodpecker, which has not had a verified sighting in about 40 years, is not extinct. they are found in wooded areas of the eastern half of the United States, the Pacific Northwest and the boreal forests of Canada. They prefer an old growth forest habitat with a good number of larger trees. They are non-migratory and stay on their breeding territory all year long. They are very defensive of their territory and will often drum, pound their beaks loudly on a hollow tree, to warn other birds to stay out. They also have a loud call, that sounds like laughing or cackling, that can also be a warning to invaders. During the winter they are a little more forgiving and will let other pileated into the territory to feed.

Pileated woodpecker primarily eat ants and wood boring insect larva. They do this by excavating large holes into trees and then using their long tongue to slurp up their prey. Pileated excavations are easily identified because they are typically larger than other woodpeckers and often somewhat rectangular. Frequently song birds and smaller woodpeckers will feed inside pileated excavations. They will also eat fruit, berries and nuts. They will sometimes forage on the ground through dead leaves or on fallen trees, where there are a lot of insects. If you are lucky they may even come to a suet feeder, especially during a rough winter.

Pileated begin nesting in April. The male will make a nesting cavity, usually in a dead tree, in hopes of attracting a female. It can take weeks for him to excavate the cavity. The hole to the cavity is an oblong shape and the inside is unlined except for leftover wood chips. Pileated typically have one brood per year which consists of a clutch of 3-5 eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs which take between two to three weeks to hatch. Both parents care for the young which are born helpless and without feathers. After they raise the young the pileated woodpeckers abandon the nest. They will not use the same nest again in the future. These abandon cavities provide nesting habitat for many other types of birds including wood ducks and owls. Pileated will also sometimes nest in man made nesting boxes.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

The olive sparrow is found primarily in Mexico and Central America. The northern portion of their range does stretch into southern Texas which is the only place in the United States where they can regularly be found.

They are a somewhat secretive bird which are usually found in dense under growth. Their preferred habitat consists of chaparral and thornscrub thickets.They eat a combination of seeds, insects and larvae, which it gleans from the undergrowth and ground.

Olive sparrows do not typically migrate. Their nesting season is from march to September. They build their nest low to the ground in a shrub or cactus. The nest is usually dome shaped and made from sticks, bark, grass and leaves. They usually lay from 2 to 5 eggs per year.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Most people think of an old guy with a beard and a staff when they hear the name Merlin, however merlin is also the name of a species of small falcons. merlins are a circumpolar species, which means that they are found in the Northern Hemisphere in North America, Europe and Asia. In North America they breed in Alaska, Canada and the northern potions of the United States. Most migrate south for the winter into the southern and western United States, Mexico, Central and northern South America. Birds in the Pacific Northwest and along the Pacific coast of Canada and Alaska often stay on the breeding territory all year long.

As with most raptor the male merlin is smaller than his female counterpart. However unlike most raptors there is also a difference in color between the male and female. The males have more of a blue-gray tinge to the feathers on their wings and backs where the female are brown. The photo above is a male where the other two are females. The females coloration helps to camouflage her while she is on the nest. The male does not spend much time on the nest so he is brighter which probably helps him to attract a mate.

Merlins are primarily bird eaters. About 80% of the merlin's diet is comprised of small song birds. The birds in the top two photos have caught dark-eyed juncos. They typically catch their prey by running them down in a high speed chase, often coming from below the prey. The other 20% of their diet is made up of small rodents and large insects. The female above captured and was eating a large darner dragonfly.